My friends and my brothers were hanging out at my brother's BBQ today and whe had discussion on ground swatting. Half said it was oaky, half said it was not sporting. One argument came up with is that why is it not okay to sploosh a duck when you can take a turkey out on the ground. Isn't it that same? Why not let the turkey take off and then fire a couple HD @ it? So what are your opinions? Me? I say if it flies, it dies, if it swims, it dies too, and if it lands, it's considered deader than dead.

I will only ground ducks that i have shot down and need to be finished off. I have groundswat ducks that swam into my spread but i guess i was not really proud of that . If ducks swim in i usually scare them up and them shoot them. I dont really have an argument either way, some people may call it unethical.

You know, I think the problem is that some of us are thinking of water or ground swatting as sneaking up on the roost and banging them there as opposed to having them come in to the decoys and missing a shot (or three) and finally finishing them off when they hit the water/ground.

I posted on this subject the first time it came up. I say shooting them in the air is just premaurely ending the hunt. If they want to sit..let em' sit...saves shells and is no less sporting in my opinion. If they won't sit...then take them on the wing. It's all hunting....and I'm a much better shot when they are sitting still anyway .

I've often wondered the same. When a deer hunter grunts to stop a deer, or turkey hunter waits for him to be still, hard to see the difference between shooting a bird that has come into the decoys and landed. I could however see if your talking about shooting turkeys from the roost or ducks for that matter etc.

This subject is just as lame as the first time around. I'm there to shoot ducks, I don't wear knickers and a bow tie. If they swim in or land before I can get on them, then I'll burn 'em right where they sit. They all taste the same...

To me 90% of the experience is the scouting, calling, and decoying of birds. If you do your Job, and by the grace of God they land in your decoys, then fire away. Shooting them on the wing is a more challenging shot, but getting them to commit and land in the deeks I feel is just as challenging.

If it flies it dies and if it swims, it dies too.

It's a fact that 70 percent of the people who purchase heavier tackle do so with the categorical I just lost a huge snook! Einstein Hairdo.The other 30 percent have either Tarpon Fever or are sporting a hand cramped into a claw from a deepwater grouper.

GroundSwatter wrote:To me 90% of the experience is the scouting, calling, and decoying of birds. If you do your Job, and by the grace of God they land in your decoys, then fire away. Shooting them on the wing is a more challenging shot, but getting them to commit and land in the deeks I feel is just as challenging.

If it flies it dies and if it swims, it dies too.

I agree. I am a hunter first and a sportsmen second. I make sure I have enough for the freezer first.

If they land that means I did everything right and the hunt went well. if they get just close enough to shoot on the wing that means I did almost everything right.

when me and my buddies actually get a chance to hunt togather we would float the river. let the current move you along and when you come up on a group of ducks let them have it. most of the time the jump up. but some times they dont. but i actually think its almost harder to kill one off the water than in flight. josh

Everyone is thinking about the wrong reasons to hunt. yea it s fun but if that is the only reason you hunt then you should rethink it. You hunt for meat just like when I was a little kid my dad had me go hunting even when I did not want to. We had to hunt to live and I can say that sometimes there was no sport at all in it. Like setting up on a right of way and blasting a big doe, they come out there every evening just wait 15 min and pull the trigger. water swating is just fine to me.

(there was no wind this day, and some telephone poles kind of threw off our spread)

1 week ago I was hunting geese. Early in the morning, two decoyed right in, but stopped short (about 40 yrds short) of the decoys (~60 yrds). I and my partner held off, got out our blinds to kick them up/move them out, not to kill them but to send them on our way and wait for another set, but the birds wouldn't go.

After screaming at the birds, throwing rocks, my partner yells, "&*^k it, you take the one on the left, I'll take the right." Well I didnt feel good about it, so I didnt shoot, and he took the top right off his bird.

I sat at the feet of some of the last market hunters and heard stories of back in the day. One o’l boy told me the best way to fill you order of Can’s was to let them swim in, then click two rocks together, then when they all ball up you let that ol’ 10 ga bark and blow channels right through them. So in keeping of our rich history about once a year I try to relive the past and see how many I can ground pond with one shot. My best to date is 5 Mallards.

"As long as there are Flyways and their coming our way, you'll find us right here"

I don't know if quoting old hunting practices as gospel is much of an argument. During population control seasons, I don't really see a problem with ground swatting (although its a last resort), but during regular seasons, I probably wouldn't ever groundswat.

Old time hunting techniques like buffalo runs, market hunting ducks, even (I bet I'll take alot of heat for this one) over whaling, almost drove those species to extinction.

Lets face it, none of us really hunts for survival, so at its face, hunting is really a sport. I get a real rush from blasting birds out of the air, but at best I feel melancholy about shooting a sitting bird. Just seems like a waste to me (unless its a nuisance season).